Three Cheers for Sweethearts [Frerard AU]

PART IV: Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 – HE'S A BEAUTIFUL MAN

I got to Chemistry earlier than usual on the Friday of the slowest week I'd ever gone through, trying my best to avoid anyone who might want a social interaction beforehand in the commons. The warning bell rang and Ray walked in, followed by Frank.

I did a double-take.

No mistaking that scorpion tattoo.

I resisted the urge to jump to my feet and let him know how glad I was to see that he was here. Ray nudged me from behind when he noticed, leaving both of us to stare wide-eyed at each other and then back at Frank.

The class went on like nothing was different. I was half-expecting Ratliff to notice him there and at least point out to the class that Frank was okay – maybe not "okay," but definitely alive – so there could be some sort of closure to the drama from earlier in the week.

Lucky for us, though, Frank's presence in the room, completely alive, was enough to spare us a fourth lecture on chemical safety. The school had been acting like it was an accident, like if Frank had paid closer attention to instructions and not been so careless, it wouldn't have happened at all.

That was the week I realized just how messed up our school was. Obviously it had been a suicide attempt, even if not everyone had witnessed it. Why hide that? Were we supposed to believe that suicide couldn't happen to people we know and instead think it was an abstract problem in the world? Why not teach kids to love their lives instead of follow the rules? I knew I wasn't the most organized person – in fact, far from it – but I knew a mixed up priority when I saw one.

Maybe I was wrong, but I was pretty sure I was the only one who saw what had happened to Frank firsthand, with my own eyes. The rest was rumor. There was a chance that they didn't actually know what he did and didn't want to jump to conclusions.

But I did. See what happened.

That's not fair.

Stop thinking, I instructed myself. I didn't need to relive that. He's okay. He's right here.

We left Chemistry without saying a word to each other; I couldn't get through the crowd of students fast enough to talk to him before we had to head down different hallways. All classes I had without him weren't long enough to come up with a thing to say.

The next three periods had never gone so slowly. I kept checking my phone for texts I knew I wouldn't get from him anytime a teacher had their back turned – something that would, at the very least, let me know we were still on good terms.

Who was I kidding? Of course we weren't on good terms. It was Hunter and me, just us, who had pushed him too far. This was fifty percent my fault. He wouldn't want to talk to me.

When the lunch bell finally rang, I moved so quickly that I actually got to the table before Frank did.

This time it was my turn to say "hi" when Frank sat down. I took advantage.

"Hey," he responded nonchalantly.

"...How are you?"

Frank laughed once, quietly, at such a redundant question. "You know..."

"Sorry, bad question." I muttered. The anxiety that I thought I was recovering from was starting to come back.

"How were your three days off?" Ray asked, as if Frank had been on vacation and not dying.

"Not as bad as I expected, to be honest," he said, taking a bite of his sandwich. "I don't even remember the first day, and the other two were incredibly boring. No pain or anything, so that's a plus."